Feel your Stress
by spacetastic
Summary: After the loss of her fiancee and suffering with depression, former soldier Lana Woodstone is overjoyed to discover that she has only one year left to serve on the starship Armageddon. Her feelings change however when Vann, a shy turian, is recruited as a member of the crew. When he promises her love and affection, Lana must choose between her feelings for him and her own plans.
1. Chapter 1

Jolting awake from her sleep and gripping the side of the bed in terror, she sat up, twitching and groaning as her sense of sanity flowed in her veins once again. Reaching out swiftly, she snatched the sleeping pills from her bedside table in anger and growled at them. So much for 'nightmare blocking salarian sleeping pills'. Groaning, she rested her elbows on her thighs, running her hand through her hair. Unhappy with the texture, she decided a shower would be a good idea. Stepping into her small bathroom, she caught herself in the mirror, frowning at the pale face that greeted her. For a thirty one year old former soldier turned minor crew member, her features had certainly surpassed her age. For a start, her skin had a pale complexion, other than the bags under her dark grey eyes which lacked any notable expression, other than current exhaustion. Lines cracked her forehead and underneath her eyes, and her eyebrows were constantly overshadowed by creases from where she had frowned for too long. Her chocolate brown hair was long and thick, but she couldn't bring herself to style it without the absence of a bobble or an elastic band tying it back. Perhaps it was to not stand out, perhaps it was for the opposite, she didn't know. Turning on the shower, the tired crew member flinched at the sudden spray of cold water on her back before relaxing as it turned warm and refreshing. Only a year and twenty weeks to go until she was free from this damned starship, free from the memories that plagued her mind at every gunshot or cry. She had waited too long, and now the time was almost here. Examining her scars, a soft sigh escaped her lips.

'If only I could speak to someone..' she thought. A pang of mistrust soon bubbled in her heart. When was the last time she spoke to someone, other than Jason and Rani? When was the last time someone touched her without her severely injuring them? She didn't know, and didn't want to care.

'Only another year and a half...'

Stumbling into the Crew's Quarters with a yawn, she was greeted as always by the only friends she had, Jason and Rani. Both of them had been engineers on the Armageddon before she could even remember.

'Morning, Lana.' greeted Rani with a smile. She was one of the only asari's on the ship but even if she wasn't, her indigo skin and her beaming smile would make her recognizable at once. She had very strong, prominent cheekbones for an asari and full, healthy colored lips as well as two pretty beaming bright blue eyes. Lana always admired her for her looks and they would often complain their faults to each other as a sort of in joke.

'Are you alright today? You look really tired.' Jason asked. He had dark skin and chocolate brown eyes, and short spiky jet black hair. He also had the look of a soldier, with a large, muscular anatomy and arms.

'I'm fine, don't worry about me. Anything interesting going on today?' Lana asked, in an attempt to change the subject. She knew her friends worried about her and her sleepless nights, but she always tried her best to make them focus their attention away from her. She always dreaded the day they would start asking questions they already knew the answer to.

'Well if you call everyday engineering interesting then yeah, sure.' Rani grinned.

'Apparently there's some new recruitment thing going on today though.' Jason remarked.

'Oh god...' Lana sighed, knowing exactly what this would bring about.

'Exactly. I guess someone finally got sick of it here and left, now some other poor sucker's gotta take his place. In armory too, or so I hear.' Jason commented with a chuckle.

'I guess we all know what this means.' The two's eyes turned to Lana, leaving her only to nod and laugh.

'Lana?' A familiar voice beckoned. It was that of the Commander Davis. Lana groaned at the unbelievable irony as she turned to face him.

'Yes, Commander?' Lana mumbled, her voice shifting to monotone.

'As you probably have already heard, possible new recruits have arrived, and we have to choose someone who is-'

'Trustworthy. I know.'

'Yes. Your ability of deducing who is trustworthy or not could be useful to me once again. Do you mind if you could come along and help us?'

Lana gazed down at the ground as usual.

'Of course, sir.'

The commander nodded.

'Well then, lets move.'

Giving her friends a grotesque look humorously, Lana followed the Commander, her feet feeling heavy after every step. She really did hate these things.


	2. Chapter 2

Lana felt her heart sink deeper and deeper into her chest the further she walked towards the room, the Commander in front of her, her eyes staring into the navy of his coat. She knew that she was an admired and useful coworker for this sort of thing because her ability to see through lies and deception came second to none, especially in first impressions. Nevertheless she wanted nothing to do with it. The fact she had to simply stand there and talk to someone was enough for her to refuse. She didn't want to speak to anyone she wasn't close to, not since that day...

The door opened with a beep as they stepped into the room. It was a simple lounge-like room with silver walls and two unoccupied couches, Lana wasn't focusing on that though. In front of her, all in a line, stood probably ten people. All of them stood up straight, arms behind their backs, their eyes staring off into nothing. With a quiet sigh, Lana scanned all of them carefully. Most of them were humans, with a look in their eyes which signaled to her that they all wanted to be somewhere else. Not that she could blame them. There was a drell, an asari as well as a quarian. Again, another human. And a turian...

As soon as her eyes reached him, they were locked on his, maybe because he was the only one in the room who was looking at her. His eyes were a deep green, almost emerald color, and they stared with an almost concerned expression. He looked a bit younger than her as far as turians went, with fairly long horns and mandibles. Lana concluded he was probably in his early twenties. Lacking face paint, his skin was a healthy tan brown and he stood a little taller than her. He wore typical red and silver turian armor, outlining his broad shoulders and hips. His facial features were quite prominent and quite masculine for a turian, although there was a timidness about him. Perhaps it was the way he stood or the way he looked at her. Either way, Lana liked him almost instantaneously. She found herself unable to break the stare she was holding with him, until she found herself smiling at him. His mouth opened slightly as if to say something, before looking away and staring down at the floor. Eventually, Lana obstructed her gaze at him by looking to the Commander and nodding. Nodding in response, Commander Davis pointed to the door and the two left the room, but not before Lana turned to give the turian one more curious look.

Outside the room, Lana felt strange. She couldn't remember the last time she shared eye contact with someone for that long.

'It was probably just because he was looking at me...' she thought to herself.

"So Lana, see anyone you like the look of?" asked the Commander.

Lana nodded. "Yes sir, the turian."

"Ah. Vann... Oros, is it? Yes, Vann Oros is his name. Why him in particular?"

"I... don't know. I just like him. He doesn't look like he'd... lie? Yeh, I don't know." Lana attempted to explain with a laugh.

The commander grinned, frowning in confusion. "Well if you're sure, then I trust you, Lana."

"Thank you commander. May I go now?"

"Of course, go ahead."

Lana grinned at the Commander, turning on her heel and walking away.

'Vann Oros...' The name of the turian she had chosen repeated in her head like a broken record. Shaking her head, Lana made her way back to the Crew's Quarters. Back to her same boring jobs.

As she expected, the turian was chosen for the job not long after. She often passed him as they made their way somewhere, almost always glancing at each other just as they passed each other. Lana didn't understand for the life of her why she was so interested in him, often scolding at herself mentally for what a stalker she'd become. He wasn't necessarily handsome or had an attractive personality, but their was an aura of mystery about him that almost taunted Lana's curiosity.

'Not like I'm attracted to him anyway.' she thought to herself in reassurance.

She desperately tried not to listen in to any conversations she overheard about him, but what she could make out from what others were saying was, as she thought, he was very shy and spent most of his time engrossed in his work in armory. She was pretty certain that her friends had noticed her curiosity about him, so in what ever way she could, she tried to forget about him and his diamond green eyes. It seemed to work well, once again Lana was focusing on her work and friends. That was until...

"Lana, can you do something for me please?"

Lana turned to see Jason, with an oddly smug grin on his face. She could easily infer that he was up to something once again.

"Of course, Jason, what is it?" She replied with a sly grin.

"I need to modify some assault rifles but, sadly, I'm all out."

Lana raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So can you run to someone in armory and ask for some for me? Maybe... Vann Oros?" Jason mocked.

A deep growl and a smirk escaped Lana's lips and she almost flew from her chair.

"Of course, Jason!" she sang sarcastically, snatching the list of guns from her friends hand.

"Thank you very much." He jeered.

"Welcome... dick."

"Bitch."

The two laughed as Lana left the room, heading towards the Combat center of the ship. On her way, she couldn't help but look around the ship and think of it in such a negative light. She really did hate it. It was probably one of the only physical things that made her truly miserable, mental things, well that was a different story all together. She often wondered how she'd kept a smile on her face for so many years, despite the inner regret she always felt. How long can a person keep it up? What is breaking point? So many questions she couldn't answer. Finally she reached the door, hesitating as it opened. Suddenly feeling slightly nervous, she peered in to see if anyone was there, and there he was. Vann's back was turned to her, not noticing her presence, and was busy working on some sort of weapon. Lana took a purposely rather loud step forward, causing him to notice her and turn to face her. Almost at once the two were staring at each other again, saying nothing. For once, it was actually Lana who looked down.

"I... a friend sent me. He's an engineer, he needs some of these."

Lana handed out the list to Vann, who simply stared. After a few seconds, he approached her slowly, reaching out and taking the list from her. He examined it quietly, before nodding and looking up at her.

"I have some of these..." he mumbled.

Vann turned to look at the guns on the shelf beside him, searching through them for the correct ones. Not saying another word he scooped up the correct ones and handed them to Lana, who took the with a smile.

"Do you... need help with them?"

Lana nodded. "No thank you, I'm fine."

The two stood in silence, staring again. Lana noticed that Vann was frowning, as if in deep thinking.

"Is something wrong?"

Vann jumped slightly, and found himself searching for an answer. Lana could not help but turn her head in confusion.

"It's nothing, it's just... ah... your eyes.."

Lana raised an eyebrow, her hand reaching to her cheek.

"My eyes?"

"Yes. They're... it's just... you seem sad."

It was then that Lana frowned. How? How did he know? She could see Vann nearing closer to her, still gazing into her eyes as if they were some difficult, interesting book. She couldn't help but look away.

"What happened to you...?"

Lana felt the sudden need to sob at the sound of that question. For the first time in a long time, she wished to tell him everything. She wished to let out all the pain and sorrow locked up inside of her. Shutting her eyes in a bid to prevent any possible sign of tears, she turned away towards the door.

"I have to go."

It was then that he touched her. A hand on the shoulder was enough for her to attack, flinging the turian against the nearest wall, leaving him to collapse to the ground in horror. The shock in his eyes was enough for her to realize her mistake. With shaking hands she reached for the guns she had dropped, backing away towards the door with stumbling feet.

"I-I..." She stammered, unable to find her words. "I-I'm sorry..."

Tears flooding her eyes, Lana fled through the door, guilt crawling in her skin like a parasite. She heard him shout for her but couldn't bare looking back. She just kept running.

'What have I done?' questions of regret flooded her mind.

'Why did I do that?'


	3. Chapter 3

It had been almost a week since the incident and Lana was still wracked with guilt for what she had done. Every time she closed her eyes she saw him, shocked, scared and almost concerned. She hadn't seen him since and she often thought of going to look for him so she could give him a proper apology, but alas, overdue work was crippling her and she couldn't even think of leaving it any longer. Tying her hair back in a usual ponytail, Lana left her room and made her way to her office, never shifting her view away from the floor. It had been almost two years since she had been diagnosed with depression, and whilst she was tackling it best she could with a smile on her face, very often it came back with a vengeance. This was one of those times when she felt, in every definition of the word, miserable, and the fact that she threw a potential friend at a wall for the simple fact that he touched her didn't help. It wasn't exactly obvious that she didn't want or like to be touched, only when someone hovered over her when forgetting that she didn't want to be hugged or when no reaction was spurred when a person reached out their hand expecting a hand shake. Only when she knew a person would she let them in, and that was a fact that made her very disliked. Stepping into the same old Crew's Quarters, Lana was greeted by a crowd of blank faces, branding her unable to stop the rolling of her eyes and a sigh from escaping her lips.

'Who told them this time?'

With no Jason or Rani to be seen, Lana grabbed a seat and took it to her desk, searching through files to find the reports she had forgotten to write and the jobs she had to do. She couldn't help but feel like a handyman to everyone on the ship as she scanned the files. She rarely used computers for her work, always preferring the use of paper however rare it was. Placing all of her work on the desk, Lana heard a sudden rumble in her stomach, remembering that she hadn't eaten.

'A quick visit to the mess hall wouldn't hurt.' she thought to herself.

Standing to leave, Lana noticed a folded piece of paper on her desk which she hadn't seen before. A note perhaps? Picking up the piece of paper, Lana flipped it open, pausing in confusion at the message it delivered.

**I'm sorry.**

She automatically knew exactly who it was from. But why would he apologize? She didn't understand. Without a second thought, Lana knew that she had to find Vann, and that it was her who would apologize, not him. Leaving the note on the desk, Lana realized just how hungry she was and made her way to the mess hall.

The Armageddon's mess hall was almost exactly the same as any other ordinary canteen, other than its view to the galaxy outside of the ship. Lana often found herself staring at the distant stars as she ate, wondering just how many were there. Buying herself a sandwich and eating it quickly, Lana starting making her way back to her office. She continued to keep her head down as she walked, not noticing a certain person walk past her. Hearing them stop and turn around, Lana froze, turning to see who it was with her hand pressed to the gun on her hip. To her relief it was Vann, who stood there silent as usual, grinning with a warm yet worried expression.

"Hi, Vann." Lana mumbled, unsure what to say. "I got your note. I wanted to see you before I saw it anyway, but... why 'I'm sorry'? It wasn't your fault. It wasn't you who-"

Vann waved his hand as a signal to stop.

"No. It was my fault." Vann paused, searching for his words. "I should have known better."

"Known better? How could you? I hadn't spoken to you before." Lana asked.

Vann shrugged, his hand on the back of his neck now nervously. Lana hesitated, eyes still glued to the ground.

"Well anyway, I'm so sorry, Vann. I've spent all week regretting what I did. It's me who should have known better, not you. I-"

Vann nodded with a slight smile.

"Please don't worry. Don't apologize. It's alright." he reassured. "I understand."

Lana couldn't help but smile, causing Vann to look away with a timid grin.

"I... yeh." Vann growled at his loss for words.

Still smiling Lana frowned, realizing that her work was still piled up on her desk.

"...I need to go. I have a hell of a lot of work to do."

Vann nodded.

"See you." He mumbled.

Waving, Lana ran back to her desk leaving Vann to continue on his way.

After the short apology the two interacted a lot more. Simple glances turned into greetings and asking how they were, until they were speaking to each other almost everyday. To Lana's joy Vann spoke a lot more, still hesitating and not finding much to say, but speaking nonetheless. The more time Lana spent with him, the more curious she was about him, until she was tired of wondering and plucked up the courage to ask him a few questions.

"Morning, Lana." Vann mumbled as she walked towards him.

"Hi Vann, how are you?"

"I'm alright. Well other than a few of my guns decided to break whilst some of our crew were using them when a few rogue geth decided to attack... what about you?"

"You haven't been blamed for it have you? I'm alright, by the way."

"No. It was my own fault anyway. I was too busy humming along to the music they were playing overhead during the time to pay attention to what I was doing."

Lana couldn't help but laugh. "That music is catchy."

"Yeh... So, ah, I... Damn it." Vann growled at himself. A perfect opportunity to ask the question she'd wanted to ask most.

"Don't worry, we all have trouble speaking sometimes."

"Not like me."

"Why do you have trouble speaking so much?"

Vann froze, eyes darting, searching for an answer.

"I..." he started "... don't know. I always have. Since I was little. Sometimes... I just can't say anything. Is it annoying you?"

Lana yelped to herself.

"No, of course not! I don't mind at all, I think it's quite cute."

"Cute?" Vann puzzled, emerald eyes turning blank for a moment, before chuckling to himself until the chuckle turned into a loud highly amused laugh until Lana found herself laughing with him.

"What's so funny?" she giggled.

"Cute! It's just... that's one word to use for a shy babbling idiot." he laughed until he was almost breathless.

Finally the two were dry of laughter and stood there giggling. Deciding that she had taken this far too childishly, Lana stood up straight again in an attempt to appear serious.

"But seriously, you aren't a shy babbling idiot. You just need to be more confident." Lana said sincerely. Vann smiled and nodded, genuinely grateful for her kind words.

"Thank you, Lana."

"You're welcome."

She found herself gazing into his eyes again, unsure why she found them so appealing. There was so much promise in them, so much kindness and genuine trustworthiness. They were attractive, whatever way you looked at them.

"Hey, did you hear about the riots on Feros?"

"Yeh, apparently the council's thinking of sending some troops down there to 'deal with it'. Let's just hope they don't decide we're up for the job."

Lana couldn't help but listen into the conversation of two crew members passing by, just the sound of the word riot sent a shiver down her spine.

"A riot..?"

Apparently Vann had been listening in also, and was now looking at her with curiosity.

"Do you think they'll send us down there?" Lana couldn't help but ask.

Unsure, Vann simply shrugged.

"Well, I still have some work to do." Lana groaned. "I'd better go."

"Alright. See you." Vann smiled.

"See you."

Back at her office, Lana was lost in her deep thinking. She'd been friends with Vann now for a while now, yet compared to the time she'd known her other friends, she barely knew him. Yet she trusted him. She trusted him with the bottom of heart and it was scaring her. After all she'd been through, she felt like she had someone who cared, and she didn't know what to do.

"Are you alright, Lana?" Rani asked, who had noticed her sitting still for a long time.

"Yeh... I'm just thinking... It's just... do you think I can trust Vann?" Lana replied, trying not to sound as lost as she so obviously was.

Rani's eyes opened wide.

"Of course! He's so sweet, isn't he? In all honesty, I think he's one of the most trustworthy people on the ship. But then again I always have trusted the wrong people."

"Like that drell guy? Or that human women?" Lana teased.

"Shut up. Can I hug you?" Rani opened her arms wide.

Hugging, Rani placed her hands on Lana's shoulders.

"Don't worry so much. Okay, girl?" Rani smiled.

"I won't." Lana answered as truthfully as she could.

"Rani! I think I've broken it! Help!"

"Coming, Jason!" Rani rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Bye for now."

Smiling, Rani walked away, leaving Lana to her thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

**This being a Mass Effect fanfic, I figured there had to be some action somewhere! So here it is, enjoy :D**

"We're being attacked!"

Lana was awoken with a startle by a distant yet roaring voice, rolling from her bed with a shriveling fear rising in her gut. Unable to remember the last attack on the ship, she clumsily pulled on the armor which she recalled vowing to herself that she would never wear again. Catching her ear, the rising sound of approaching footsteps rose and erupted past her locked door. Frozen with insecurity, a shriek escaped her lips at the sudden banging on her door, her hands grasping the gun from her hip.

"Lana, it's us!"

Recognizing the voice of her friends, Lana felt her heartbeat and heavy breathing ease and return to normal, and with still shaking hands she reached for the locking device beside her door, switching the current state to unlocked. In almost an instant, Jason and Rani were at her side, mumbling reassurance.

"It's gonna be alright, Lana. It'll pass, go back to bed."

"Go ahead, we'll go to the command deck."

Lana shook her head warily, still numb with nervousness.

"No, I'm fine. Hopeless or not, I'm part of this team whether anyone wants me or not. I was a soldier once, and I know just as much as everybody else. Let me go, I'm coming." she insisted, her words almost monotone from the pleaded request.

Breaking free from her friends hands, Lana made her way for the door, very much aware of the two puzzled figures behind her. She knew just as much as they did that it was time to conquer her fears, despite the thought of it chilling her. It was then that she remembered something someone said to her once, although she couldn't recall who it was.

'Be brave, even when no one else is,' The voice echoed in her mind,

'Because when you are, even if you're afraid, you'll be unbeatable.'

Lana felt the dormant urge to fight reanimate inside her, the blood in her veins pumping furiously and her fists clenching. In almost an instant, she felt as if a weight had been removed from her, and she found herself sprinting through the crowds of crew members heading just where she was. In what felt like a second she was at the command deck, scanning all she could see until she noticed the Commander, who approached her in surprise.

"Woodstone? What the hell are you doing down here?" he yelled, his strong American accent seeming to slice through the commotion.

"I'm here to help, Commander. I'm not just going too sit around like I always do."

The Commander's eyebrows furrowed, as if he was attempting to understand the different Lana who stood before him. Who seemed as if she was who she used to be.

"Lana... What about your phobia?" He asked flatly, masking his confusion in his voice.

"What about it? Sir, I'll be fine." Lana promised, the determination in her eyes flaring wildly.

The Commander shook his head, his confusion turning to frustration from the crying voices and orders and questions and the apparently depressed woman who stood before him.

"Look, I- one second! Lana, you... Fine! Go to defenses, or something, just make sure those evasive maneuvers and weapons remain online!" The Commander roared furiously, rushing away elsewhere. With the absence of a 'yes, sir', Lana pulled out her Omni-tool, keeping close eye on any repairs that needed doing or any glitches in the weapons and defenses of the ship. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a rather concerned Vann approaching her through the crowds, also on his Omni-tool.

"Vann." Lana greeted when they were finally close enough to talk.

"Lana, what... what are you doing? I thought-"

"I'm alright, honestly don't worry. Right now all we need to focus on is keeping this ship online, what is it that's trying to attack us?" Lana interrupted in an attempt to keep the attention away from her. Vann frowned, looking away for a moment in a trail of thought, before meeting her gaze again.

"We think it could be a ship stolen by the rioters from Feros. It has no visible security in use... look."

Moving to stand beside her, Lana peered into Vann's Omni-tool, noticing how the system's defense appeared to be shut down and was flashing red.

"...Well?" Vann asked quietly.

"Well, I think that they tried to enter a password and did a great job of screwing up at it. Clearly rioters. So why can't we take them down?"

"... Because-"

A sudden tremor sent the two of them flying to the ground, the walls of the ship rattling violently from the impact. The ship had clearly been hit, and its slender build did not help in bracing the blow. Before Lana had even recovered fully, she felt Vann's defensive hands gripping her shoulders gently, pulling her a little from where she had fallen. She could have easily lashed out at him, and she wouldn't be surprised if that was actually his intention for her to do so, but for the reason that she had grown used to being unable to decipher, she didn't feel the need to. Perhaps it was the softness of his touch on her skin, or the subtle strength of the arms that held her so protectively, or the feeling of his breath against her hair. Left without an answer once again, Lana could only conclude that it was the feeling of safety and trust she felt with him, and those two words were enough for her to even bear being held so kindly, and perhaps even make her want to be.

Finally she had come to completely, and could now hear her name being called by the fretting turian who was shaking her awake. Realizing that she was alright, Vann released her, allowing her to sit up and stare up at him with a thankful yet curious expression in her eyes. For a moment, it was just the two of them and the odd tension between them, the shouts of commands and the calming rattle of the ship disintegrating around them. The unsure turian felt the sudden need to speak, whilst Lana simply stared shyly. Lost in a feeling he hadn't felt before, Vann searched for some sort of sign of affection to show to the women who sat before him, before giving up and gingerly touching the tip of her elbow with his fingertips.

"Guys, come on!"

The two were finally snapped out of their moment by a wailing voice. The blows to the Armageddon were not nearly enough to damage it severely, but the attacking ship continued to fire. Unable to find anyway of making peace, the order was given, and the rioters ship was fired upon. In almost seconds, the ship was a bonfire of spreading heat and burning fire, sections separating from the vessel and evaporating into the vast of space. Like a beating heart oozing with blood, the ship was throbbing and detaching until at last the structure would hold no longer, and it was a great fireball of exploding metal and simmering death. Others cheered and celebrated the defeat of the ship, but Lana was a shaking mess on the ground, sobbing and shrieking. She had seen this before, when she lost him, on that day. Memories were throbbing in her head like a migraine and tears flooded from her eyes, the strong demeanor she had rediscovered fading from the scene. She felt herself being lifted and carried away from the vanishing eruption, yet she still saw the ship vividly in her mind. She saw the glass in front of her, restraining her from the fire. She saw sparks and lights and burning. And she saw the horrified face of her dying fiancee. Unable to remain in such a horrid, uncaring galaxy, Lana closed her eyes, drifting into the valleys of unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Painful memories continued to swarm in Lana's head even when she had been settled down onto her bed, soundless screams still erupting from her throat, accompanied by endless sobs and moans. The hair tie that once secured her hair had been torn out and was nowhere to be seen, her once fair hair now a wild clumped mess, tangled in her clasping hands that hung onto her scalp as if for dear life. She felt a familiar emptiness in the pit of her stomach, and a feeling of sorrow that clung on inside of her like a cancer. Every now and again she slapped away a hand which gently brushed on her cheek, attempting to caress her. She was very much aware that Vann was beside her, his arms hovering over her form in an attempt to comfort her. She knew very well how she appeared to him, a broken and distraught women who needed some moral support. She couldn't help but grin to herself, only to return to her misery, her hands now covering her face. Almost instantly Vann's hands were on her arms, and she tore them away from her, yelling a curse and tearing herself from the bed in a pitiful attempt to stand. Falling to her knees, a frustrated sigh escaped her lips. She felt like a child, and she found herself unable to cave in the embarrassment that Vann had to witness this. The thought made her attempt to hold back tears become more desperate. The sound of a figure lifting itself from the bed, gliding across the room and quietly stand in front of Lana made her look up to meet the turian's concerned and loyal eyes, before bowing her head in shame. In almost an instant, hands were pulling her up to her feet and were wrapped tightly around her, her head to his chest, her hands floating with unease and anxiety.

"It's alright..."

Her hands were on his upper arms, pushing on them, attempting to get them away. He wouldn't budge. Now, woman who didn't like to be touched was wrestling with the unhindered arms that held her.

Grasping and whacking and punching and tackling.

"It's alright, Lana."

Fighting and yelling and cursing and screaming.

"Don't fight me..."

Moaning and wincing and whimpering and sobbing.

"Shh..."

Sadness erupting, Lana fell into the turian's arms, unable to hold back the flooding tears that filled her eyes. She was sobbing against his chest, her hands resting on his waist, warmed by the circular motion of his hands against her back and the stroking and combing of her hair with his fingertips. She felt his chin rest on the top of her head, soothed by his occasional humming and soft words. She felt so comfortable, so safe in his arms, that she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her back. Her tears felt never ending and uncontrollable, even when she was through with crying. The two stood now, embracing silently with only the sound of space to be heard. Realizing her silence, Lana recalled the feeling of embarrassment that clung to her, instantly lifting her head to meet Vann's gaze. Almost instantly his handsome emerald green eyes entranced her, striking her speechless.

"I..." Lana attempted to form a sentence, only to be stopped by Vann's calm smile.

"It's alright." Vann's voice lulled, his hand now on her cheek.

"But... I'm sorry, I-"

A single kiss was planted on her forehead, leaving her at a loss for words once again. In a thoughtless second, his forehead was on hers, and she felt herself fall into darkness again.

Lana woke with a gasp, her eyes feeling heavy from the crying earlier. Shifting her weight onto her lower arms and raising herself from the bed, Lana heard a faint 'hello' from her side. Turning her head, she saw Vann, sitting in a chair facing her. With a faint smile, he rose from the chair to sit beside her on the bed, his face now a picture of questions and worry.

"Vann.." Lana started, remembering the apology she needed to give.

"I'm so sorry about before. I must have scared you so much, I don't know why you stayed and-"

Vann gestured for her to stop with a lifted hand.

"Lana, it's alright. Honestly. You needed to... get that all out. Don't apologize."

There was a moment of relieved silence, Vann looking down at his hands shyly.

"Lana," he mumbled, searching for his words. "I... need to ask you something. You don't have to answer."

Lana nodded hesitantly, knowing almost instantly what he would ask. Vann leaned in slightly, his brows furrowed with the lists of questions in his mind he wanted to ask. Finally, his eyes left the floor and gazed into hers, desperate for answers.

"What happened to you?"

Lana felt her heart sink, automatically feeling unsure and without confidence. Her eyes fled his, her knuckle at her lip, afraid that she would cry once again.

"You don't need to answer." Vann reassured.

Lana shook her head, knowing that this had to be done.

"No, I need to tell you. I need to tell someone." Lana turned away from Vann, staring at the chair beside her bed.

"Before I was part of this crew, the way I am now, I was a soldier. A damn good one as well..." she paused,

"During that time, I met someone. He was... well, I thought he was perfect. We served together for almost two years, always together, we had so many plans. He proposed to me one night, just out of the blue, told me that when everything was over, we'd be together. We were... happy. On top of that, there was my brother, who served with us. He was always there for me, always making me laugh. Always telling me new things. I had quite a lot of friends too. I thought my life was perfect, and would be even more so when we could leave..." she took a breath.

"Then, there was a mission. A suicide mission. We all got onto a ship and flew off to fight like always. But something went wrong. The ship was hit. There was fire everywhere, people were dying in front of my eyes and I could do nothing. There was nothing I could do. Before I knew it, he was dragging me to an escape pod. Just me, no one else. He put me in it, and... he closed the door. I was flying away from him. I saw him... burning against the window. The ship exploded and-" a tear escaped her eye.

"I lost everyone. Everyone died. Everyone!" Her head was in her hands.

"My fiancee, my brother, my friends..."

Vann's arms were around her again, only this time, she too was holding him. The two sat together in a warm embrace which lasted for what seemed like forever.

"I'm so sorry... for what happened to you." Vann whispered in her ear, holding her tighter. A contented smile grew across Lana's lips, her cheek moving to his. The two moved away almost instantly, their eyes meeting, both sharing a look of want and emotion.

"Lana..."

Their faces drew closer to each other, now just inches away. His hands were on her jaw, his thumb against her lip, and hers on his shoulders. Lana felt his breath on her lips as they brushed on his, a shiver of delicious attraction shooting through her body.

"This is Commander Davis, will everyone who isn't injured or distressed please report to the Combat Information Center at once."

An announcement blared through the ceiling, the two separating from each other. Lana could see the disappointment in Vann's face as he left the side of the bed, facing towards the door, away from her view.

"I should go." Vann mumbled.

Lana frowned. "I'm coming too."

Vann turned his head to look at her.

"It's alright, you need some rest, and your arm..."

Lana looked down at her arm in confusion, not noticing the bandage around it the entire time.

"Oh... alright." Lana agreed blankly.

Vann couldn't help but smirk before walking towards the door.

"See you."

Before Lana could respond, he was gone. Resting in her bed, her head buzzed with thoughts on what had happened. Why was she feeling this way towards him? He was shy, but he cared, and he was there was her.

'After all I've been through, is this... happiness?' Lana thought.

Smiling to herself, Lana turned on to her side to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"And you're back in the room!"

Awoken from her daydream Lana jumped from her slump on the desk, Jason before her with his arms crossed with an overblown and rather idiotic grin plastered onto his face. Unable to hold back a giggle of embarrassment, she looked to the floor, a hand to her cheek.

"That's the fifth time this week. Oh how I wonder why." he smirked with his eyebrow raised suggestively.

"I'm sure you do. Anyway I'm busy." Lana answered flatly, reaching to the glasses beside her and and putting them on, shuffling through the papers before her in a bid to appear occupied.

"I can see that. Anyway I'll leave you to your 'work', I have stuff I need to do y'know."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah! I'm a very busy guy in case you didn't know. So many amazing things to do with my life on this ship. A living heaven you could ca-"

"Goodbye, Jason."

With humor in his eyes, Jason left the room with a chuckle. Lana had stopped searching through papers and was staring at the door Jason had departed from.

'Where is he?'

Since that day when the rebel ship attacked them, all she had thought about was Vann, and the kiss they had very nearly shared. Since then, she hadn't seen him anywhere; not in the Combat Section, his quarters, the Crews quarters, nowhere. In the short time she had known him, this hadn't happened once. But in her mind, she was fully aware of her attraction to him now, and frankly, didn't want to see him.

'God, why now?' an angry thought hissed, 'If I see him again, I'll ignore him, simple as that. He deserves someone better than me. Someone younger, more exciting, someone just plain better. I can't be with him, or anyone, not after my fiancee.'

With her work finished, Lana rose from her desk. Tired of many years of sitting around doing paperwork, and of daydreaming, she had taken up a spot in shooting practice and combat once again, finally deciding that her health was more important than her fears. Plus, she could always pretend the targets of people who had annoyed her the previous day... The revolver was her personal favorite, admiring its precise aim and it's elegant shape. Inserting the rounds, stilled in the correct position, her finger was clasped on the trigger, frozen in wait for the target to appear. Seconds melting away unnoticed. Instantly the faceless figure appeared. The trigger squeezed to fire on the shadow until it was sponge-like with gaping holes. Unable to hear the shots through the earmuffs, a scream or a flinch was an extremely rare occurrence, one that fortunately did not happen today. However, continuous shooting rounds were tiring, and Lana decided drinks were needed for everyone.

Same old hallways, same old automatic door, same old damn slow elevators. Same old electronic buzzing sounds and rattles of the ship dangling in the atmosphere like a bird trapped in a storm, and conversations in untranslatable languages. Unable to prevent a sigh, Lana continued to tread through the slightly crowded hallway, often clumsily brushing people walking past, too hurried for a 'pardon' or a 'sorry'. Keeping her eyes to the ground, she refused to gaze up in case, well, he was there.

'Just forget about him damnit. Just keep-'

"Hey."

Automatically she turned to the direction of the familiar voice, freezing at the sight of Vann and his immaculately perfect timing, standing still just as her and smiling warmly, making her feel slightly guilty. People continued to walk in the hallway, obscuring vision of each other at time.

'Perfect.' Lana realized, embracing the potential escape.

As soon as a flock of crowd hid her she hurried away, vanishing into the commotion as if in a tactical cloak, the sliver of guilt beginning to overwhelm her. She would have turned but she knew what she would see, him confused and searching for her. She would have stopped and went back, but she knew she couldn't, remembering the morals she had recently set for herself. They were two different species, was that enough to prevent her attraction? Of course not, if anything that fact drew her closer to him, his vivid appreciation of things, his sense of danger and authority, his protective nature and the safety she felt with him. Her head told her that she was nowhere near ready for another relationship, but her heart had other ideas. What about the age difference? Why did she not care? Her head was buzzing again. Before she knew it she was back in shooting practice with the promised drinks, not seeing him again on her way back.

With her practice finished, Lana finally stopped, throwing on her taupe jacket and making her leave from the place. As she strolled through the ship, she couldn't help but frown angrily at herself, realizing ignorance was the one thing that she couldn't do to Vann. She continued to walk, turning at the sound of a door at the side of her open, and gawking to see him there again. Talk about coincidence and good timing.

"Um, I..." Lana mumbled at Vann's usual silence, knowing that this silence was different.

"You... you ran off before. Why?" He looked like a puppy who'd been caught chewing a shoe.

"Look, we're different people. Yeh, I've told you my situation, but there's more about me than that. I like you, I do, and that's why I don't think we should go on doing... this anymore." Lana explained, not once daring to look at him.

"Lana, you need... someone."

"And so do you, someone better than me. Someone younger maybe, another turian perhaps, or-"

"I don't want anyone else!" he exclaimed, obviously louder than planned. Shaking his head in frustration, he took her hands in his, staring with shy intent.

"Since I met you I've felt better about myself, I can actually open my mouth and speak without screwing up one way or another. Ever since I first saw you in that room I knew you were deteriorating, fast, and I've wanted to help you since then, however I can. I've known you only a few months now, yet I feel so... close to you. I know you and I care about you. I... I..." Sputtering, he hung his head, only looking up when she released a hand from his and caressed his cheek.

"Please, give this up." she whispered flatly, releasing herself from him. Momentarily, tears were down her cheeks and she was quickening away, only to be stopped by the feeling of fingers on her spine, turning to enter an embrace.

"Don't be afraid." Vann hushed as he cuddled her lovingly.

"I need you, don't I?" Lana giggled as she wiped away her tears, accepting the fact.

Smiling, Vann placed his forehead on hers.

* * *

**Sorry if this one's a bit late or seems rushed, had a slight case of writer's block here :)**


	7. Chapter 7

The intimacy of touches forming a melody, the melding of skin and trust and heat. The swelling desire rising around them and the sweet taste of kisses. Passionate movements against each other in a slow ecstatic rhythm. Mumbles and moans and an often whispered 'I love you'. Lana was awoken from her vivid dream with a shock of embarrassment and a flush on her cheeks.

'Hell no, I wasn't just dreaming about-'

Groaning, Lana buried her face in her pillow, her hands in her hair. This wasn't the first time that she'd had dreams about him, now it was finally becoming irritating. They were both obviously aware of the attraction now, but surely no grown women would have these sort of ideas yet, right? Sighing, she rose from her bed, deciding a cold shower would be ideal. How would she be able to look him in the eye with these ideas without a stupefied grin on her face?

'Guess it's time to find out.'

The riots on Feros were finally getting out of hand since the destruction of the Reapers, more species, humans especially, were relocating to the planet due to the colossal damage to Earth. Deciding that peace had missed its due date, soldiers were finally being sent down to see what they could do. Part of Lana wished to be out there despite everything, tired of the dragging days on the ship and hoping that she could put her gun to use again. She'd been asked out on missions by various people but was always preoccupied or hit with sudden fear. Sitting at the window of the canteen, she couldn't help but touch the glass with her fingertips, gazing out into the spirals and swirls of the stars before her, the majestic colors of the clouds fascinating her. Was it only now that she had realized their beauty? Unable to help herself she smiled, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Hey, Lana." Lana looked up to see Rani who stood with crossed arms, smiling gleefully.

"You seem happy today." Lana remarked, Rani nodding proudly.

"Sure am, guess who's been asked to accompany the Commander on a special mission?"

"I hate guessing games."

"Well it's me, unsurprising I know, but!" Chirped Rani, her hands clapping together. "I can take someone with me."

Lana raised an eyebrow, hope suddenly flickering in her gut and her arms crossing.

"I know you're bored shitless, that you gotta get out more, you've been telling me for the past few weeks, so I had a clever little idea. Well, Whaddya say?" Rani hoped, smiling expectantly.

"Hell yeah!" Lana beamed, instantly rising from her chair.

With an overjoyed yay, Rani led Lana away from the canteen.

Awkwardly, Lana tugged on the straps of her armor, the feeling of the cold plates against her skin alien after so long, and her now petty revolver replaced with a deadly submachine gun.

"M-9 Tempest, not bad for a spare gun." Lana praised, examining the weapon with close inspection.

"Not to mention heat sink capacity and extra rounds." Reminded Rani, approaching from her seat on the small ship.

"But nothing of course-" A clicking sound from the asari's gun, "beats my baby."

Rani held up her gun proudly, before pressing it to her chest as if she adored it. There were visible splashes of purple and pink spray paint on the gun, forming an image which appeared somewhat like an M. Whilst being slightly worn from damage it was polished and obviously well cared for, clearly appreciated by its somewhat overly attached owner.

"Your baby? You mean that crappy pistol you have there?"

"Ah! She's not a pistol, she's a heavy pistol! And an M-5 Phalanx, just so you know. And this 'crappy' pistol has more upgrades than you can count on those little human fingers of yours!" Rani declared with pride, the gun in the air once again.

"Isn't that a System's Alliance gun?" Lana couldn't help but jeer.

"Yeah, so what?"

Laughing, the two took a seat as the ship landed in the destination; the Citadel's wards. The ludicrously tall buildings stood clumped together as if they were one massive skyscraper, there textures appearing soiled and filthy. Skycars hovered here and there as civilians of all species made there way around the overcrowded place. Shops were littered with people, some almost scavenging for whatever they offered, the Keepers seemingly observing. Lana remembered her brother speaking of harsh places like these and warning to steer clear unless necessary. Frowning, she continued to follow Rani and the few other people who had joined them on this mission, their Commander leading them. Noticing that they seemed serious and tense, she turned to her friend curiously.

"So, what's the mission again?" she inquired. Rani laughed a little, turning to face her.

"Well, some guys from C-Sec asked for backup. We're looking for some geneticist named Anay Kar, a volus, apparently this sicko's been selling organs on the black market." She explained, noticing Lana cringe.

"So, it's another Dr Saleon?"

"Precisely. Anyway, we're meeting up with some others before we go and get him. Gotta be sure he doesn't make a run for it."

Lana hands clutched her gun almost instantly at the sound of this criminal. The thought of criminals being allowed to run freely angered her, especially ones like these, it made her want to flee back to the little black box inside of her head, only if she did she wouldn't be able to keep this newly found courage burning. Frowning again, she continued to follow the others through the streets, often looking around the apartments to see timid faces peeking through windows, observing silently.

Eventually they found the others, only four of them, all holding guns and heavily armored like them. They look honorable and austere, most of them she hadn't seen before.

"Ready for this, boys?" The one leading Lana's group asked, the four nodding.

"Let's go."

One by one they entered a building with a green cross sign stabled onto it, clearly a hospital. Inside, it was hauntingly obvious that the building was unoccupied, not a soul in sight and the silence practically screaming. The walls of the interior were chipping away to reveal the structure underneath. The furniture scattered around the place were battered and unattended. Oddly, no technology or computers were anywhere to be seen, it were as if the building was from a different era. Soon, they were climbing the stairs, careful not to make them creak in case anyone was there, Lana and Rani in the middle of the group treading slowly, guns pointed in front of them just in case. Coming to a door, everyone backed up against the nearest wall, the Commander's checking the device beside it to see if it would open. To everyone's expectations, it was locked.

"We're gonna bust it open." He whispered.

There were a few nods and gulps around the group as the Commander aimed his weapon at the door and fired, the supersonic velocity of it's projectile forcing the door from it's hinge, sending it flying into the darkness of the room. Suddenly the team had charged into the room, swearing bloody murder on anyone in there. However, there was no one. Pointing their guns around aimlessly they entered further into the room, searching for a source of light. Lana, feeling unsafe, squinted in the pitch black of the room, searching for the criminal. Sure she had seen something in a corner, she approached, turning away from the group.

"Look out!"

Realizing the fleeing figure sprinting towards her, Lana turned away, kicking her leg up to meet the face of the bastard volus and approaching as he fell. Surrounded by the torches of her teams weapons she could see him clearly, her gun now at his head, bending until he could see her.

"Gotcha." she snarled, knocking him unconscious with the but of her gun.

"Well, we got him. We finally got him!" The Commander cheered. "Looks like the guys at C-Sec'll be buying you a drink tonight, eh Lana?"

Lana shrugged, smiling proudly.

"Thanks, that guy needed to be caught, simple as. But that drink will go down nice knowing he's behind bars."

"I'll say!" Rani cried out as she approached. "Well, let's get the hell out of here."

With pride and confidence, Lana walked to the ship along with the team.

* * *

**Sorry for the lack of Vann here, I still have a bit of writer's block at the moment. :(**

**Oh and if the mild language and the... details described in the first paragraph bother you, then you miiight not want to read on. There's gonna be a lot more of that in here, just a little warning! :)**

**Spacetastic awaaay!**


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a month since her victory at the citadel, yet people still spoke of Lana with such respect and surprise. One second she was a mere office woman, the next she was knocking criminals unconscious with a gun. It was almost frightening, the reaction that is, so much so it drove Lana to annoyance. Whenever someone stopped to congratulate her, she would simply nod, smile, and continue on her way with a subtle roll of the eyes for no one but herself to know of. Well, that was until a certain someone noticed from the shadows of the Combat center she passed unbeknownst.

"... Starting to annoy you, huh?" asked a familiar voice, a little clearer than usual.

Of course, it was Vann. He was turned so he could see both his desk and the woman passing him, a partially calibrated gun in his hand. Lana smirked, she hadn't spoken to him in a while.

"Well... yeah." Lana hesitated, before deciding to elaborate, it was Vann after all, not a stranger. With several emotions filling her up, she took a step forward, preparing for a good old fashioned rant.

"I mean, come on! It's been a month, and people are still talking about it! All I did was knock the guy out, it's not like I jumped in front of a bullet whilst knocking the guy out whilst... I don't know, running from an explosion-"

Vann couldn't hold back a giggle at such a ridiculous statement.

"-who am I? Commander Shepard? No! I'm just a woman on ship who just happened to take the kill shot."

"... I know a certain turian who'd claim to take the kill shot. A stubborn one too." Vann commented with a smirk. Lana frowned, her arms crossed now.

"But yeah... don't worry about it. It'll pass." Vann reassured.

"When?"

"... Well..." Vann searched for a number, maybe a date. No, nothing. All he could do was shrug.

"Exactly!" Lana threw her arms to her sides, shaking her head. Realizing she was probably appeared more and more aggressive as the rant continued, she stopped, changing the conversation.

"Anyway, forget it. How are you?" She asked, hoping the question would work. Vann hesitated, looking down.

"Is something wrong? Has something happened?" Lana asked, becoming concerned. To her relief, Vaan nodded.

"No. It's not that. It's this." Turning back to his desk, he produced a letter and presented it to Lana.

"They gave it to me. They couldn't find you, I was the closest person they could find. It's... of great importance to you, Lana. Don't worry though, I haven't opened it, but I know the... details. Here." Frowning, and almost shaking, he slowly handed it to Lana. Growing pale for reasons even she didn't know, she took the letter and examined the envelope carefully. A grave expression grew in the grey eyes Vann adored and found so beautiful, much to his horror. It was a letter of condolence. Gazing coldly at Vann, she tore it open, her gaze never once leaving his, not until the letter was open and the writing was completely visible. With a deep breath, she met the writing with as little emotion as she could muster.

Alas, it was the letter that should have been sent so long ago; the one she had begged for from the commander she and her fiancee served under on that day. 'on paper,' the voice of a younger, softer, grieving Lana Woodstone echoed in her mind with perfect recollection, 'we only read paper, no datapad, no omnitool... email... whatever the fuck it has! Plain, A4 paper, do you understand? Do you? Tell me you do! You have to! Please, he has to rest... without it he-!' No, no more memories. It was time to read this, with a clear conscience.

'I'm ready for this, I'm not a young girl anymore, I can do this.' she kept telling herself as she tackled every letter, word, sentence that the letter gave. In five minutes she had read two sentences, in ten she had read a paragraph. In half an hour there was nothing else to read. Her eyes were red now, her lips trembling. Vann's hands reached out, almost certain she would collapse onto the ground in a heap of agony. But she hadn't. Not yet.

"It's done." she whispered, "It's read. Now I can..." Lana started, her hands trembling. Vann nodded slowly, there was no real reason to, but he did. It was reassuring in its own, meaningless way.

"I can move on now." she confirmed, nodding herself now. "Yeah, I can. I know now, he's fine. He's fine."

The letter had slipped from her hand and tumbled to the ground without her even knowing, her hands still out before her with fingers clutched on an invisible paper. She was in a fit of subtle, silent tremors, and she was gasping for air as she stood in place. But what was tragic, the fact that nearly brought Vann to tears himself, was that she didn't even know she was doing it. As far as she was concerned, she had won.

"Thank you, Vann." She smiled with quivering lips. Lana turned to leave but almost instantly collapsed onto the ground, him at her side a split second afterwards. For an unknown time, they were just there in each others arms, Lana sobbing silently against the turian's chest as he gently stroked her hair, lulling her with hums and hushes. Eventually, she feel asleep against him, feeling only him lifting her and the sensation of being carried.

Waking with a deep sigh, Lana rose slowly on her elbows, lifting herself so she could sit up, with her knees against her chest. With her hand in her hair, she realized the emptiness she was feeling in the pit of her stomach, and grief temporarily washed over her once again. The letter. Wondering where she was, she looked around the room with a frown.

'My room.' she realized. 'Vann brought me back to my room.' A smile creased her lips.

'Vaan, where are you?'

With the sudden and unbelievably deep desire to see the turian who had arose these dormant feelings within her, Lana literally jumped from her bed, charging through the rooms of her cabin.

"Vann!" She cried a few times. She had to see him, right now. She was fine, and only now did she realize it. She was-

Vann was in her kitchen, pouring some water into a glass he seemed to be having difficulty holding; it was a human's glass after all. The cute image made Lana beam the biggest smile she had in years.

"Vann!"

Vaan turned to her almost instantly, shocked at the woman he saw. The woman who was usually so distant, so withdrawn and frightened, the woman he loved was smiling at him, looking so much younger!

"L-Lana?" he asked, stunned at the sight. "Are you... okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Vann, I get it now..."

"Get what?"

"Why the letter has come now."

Vann looked puzzled.

"The letter has come now because I needed someone to be there with me. Someone who... otherwise, I'd have collapsed before I'd even opened that damned letter." Explaining herself, Lana slowly approached the turian.

"Because of you, only now can I get rid of this anger I've been feeling for as long as I can remember. I'm ready... to be me again." Lana stopped, just a few footsteps away from the turian. "I mean, that probably sounds cheesy. In fact yes it does... shit."

"No!" Vann explained, now approaching Lana himself and taking her hands. "It's not, it's not at all! Lana, I want nothing more but for you to be happy. I want you to be you, and to not be frightened anymore! And if I... if I can be the one to do that, then let me! Spirits, that's all I ask!"

Lana smiled, closing the gap between them.

"Y-you do, Vann. I-"

"Lana..."

Without a second thought their arms were intertwined and they were kissing. Closing their eyes in the beauty of the harmony between them, their kiss became deep and passionate as their grip on each other grew tighter with longing and desire. It was a little awkward at first, being two different species, but soon it became natural and real. Longing for time to stop, they kissed for as long as possible, separating only to take a breath and joining once again. It was as if everything around them was nonexistent, and it was only the two of them together, for what was probably hours. Soon, they grew tired of just kissing their lips, and with that their cheeks, foreheads, cheekbones, necks and shoulders were kissed just as passionately also. Hands moved and swayed with the rhythm of their movement, until it was all too much. Time becoming relevant once again, as was the need to breathe, their lips parted, yet they still held each other close as they caught their breaths once again. Eventually, Vaan spoke.

"Lana, let me in tonight." he whispered into her ear.

"W-What?"

"I want to be with you tonight, to show you how much I love you."

'I love you'. Those three words were enough to form tears in Lana's eyes with joy.

"You... love me?" She asked, longing to hear it again from him.

"Yes, I love you, Lana Woodstone."

"And I love you! And yes, I will let you in tonight, so please, come soon!"

So as the ship became dark, Vann was greeted with an unlocked door, the woman he loved awaiting him, and a night of sweet, pure and unbelievably passionate love for the two to share, so when they awoke in the morning beside each other in a wonderful embrace, they were lovers. And that was unmistakable.

* * *

**I'm baaack, and they're together! Yaaaay! Oh my Jebus this is overdue, but it returns! Haroff! I offer only the most humble apologies, and I hope you enjoy. **

**Spacetastic away, but has returned, therefore... not away, whatever, enjoy!**


End file.
